Blank rotating mechanism



Sept. 1, 1936. JHFRlEDMAN I 2,052,760

BLANK ROTATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 5, 1953 y 2v Sheets-Sheet 1 Jbhzzmu'ammmm Qtturnrgs.

P 1936- J. H. FRIEDMAN 2,052,760

BLANK ROTATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 5, 1953 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 i i, IL 555 33 35553f 51 32 35 .fis

5 "to r? v A I 4,0529 v ,4 7 35 fimflmlffimflnnmmr Patented Sept. 1,1936 PATENT OFFICE BLANK ROTATING MECHANISM John H. Friedman, Tiflin,Ohio, assignor to The National Machinery Company, Tififin, OhioApplication September 5, 1933, Serial No. 688,240

11 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanism whereby a' blank, while beingtransferred from one position to another between the dies of a forgingmachine, header or the like, will be automatically rotated apredetermined distance about its individual axis.

While the invention can be used in connection with different kinds offeeding mechanism, it is more especially designed for use in connectionwith the structure disclosed in the patent to W. E. Ehinger issued onJuly 4, 1933, Number 1,916,608.

It is an object of the invention to combine with a feeding mechanism oneor more rollers for gripping a blank while it is being transferred,means being employed for imparting rotation automatically to a blankengaging roller whereby the blank, through frictional engagement withthe roller, will be given a partial rotation prior to being deposited inthe new position to which it is being fed.

Another object is to provide rotating mechanism which is simple andcompact in construction and adjustable automatically to blanks ofdifferent diameters.

, With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts and in certain steps of themethod hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims,it being understood that changes may be made in the construction andarrangement of parts and in the disclosed method without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

' In the accompanying drawings'the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings:

Figure "l is an elevation of a portion of a forging machine and its feedmechanism provided with the present improvements.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2,.Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevation of the feeding fingers and therotating mechanism carried thereby, a series of blanks being shown insection in their several positions between the gripping dies.

Figure4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 3.

Figure is a section on line 5-5, Figure 3.

The feeding mechanism per se which has been illustrated in theaccompanying drawingsis substantially the same as that disclosed in thepatent to Ehinger herein before referred to. It ineludes a bracket ladapted to be secured to the top of the forging, heading, or other typeof metal working machine where it will extend over the die box or thatportion of machine wherein are located, in the present instance, astationary gripping die A and the movable grip- 5 ping die B. Thesedies, in-the structure illustrated, are provided with opposed series ofM pressions indicated at a and b respectively, the impressions a beingadapted to register with the corresponding impressions b when the dies Aand B are brought into contact. A heading or upsetting die C or similardevice may be arranged for acting on stock gripped between the dies Aand B and is arranged for movement relative to said dies. Theconstruction and oper-ation of the dies A, B and C constitute, inthemselves, no part of the present invention and it is not deemednecessary to illustrate or describe the mechanism employed for operatingthese parts. It need only be stated that the die B is adapted to moveagainst the die A once during each cycle of the machine and during thissame cycle the die B will move toward and away from the dies A and Bwhile they are in contact. V The bracket l hasa shaft 2 journaledthereon carrying cams 3 and 4 preferably shaped substantially as shown,for example, in the drawings. The peripheral portion of cam 3 engages anantifriction roller 5 carried by an arm 6 extending upwardly from aslide 7. J ournaled upon the back face of this slide near the lower endthereof are spaced rollers 8 while extending from the front of the slideis a lug 9. Another slide I0 is movably mounted on the front face of theslide 1 and has an upwardly extending arm ll provided with ananti-friction roller l2 adapted to engage the periphery of the cam 4. Apivot pin I3 is extended backwardly from the slide II and has a spacingcollar l4 designed to work within a recess [5 formed in the upper end ofthe slide 1. A slot 16 is provided in the slide I0 and projectingforwardly from the slide at the upper end of this slot is a lug l1.Another lug I8 is extended forwardly from the slide I0 at one side ofthe lower portion of the slot I6.

The slides I and ID are mounted for reciprocation within a guideway l9formed within the bracket I and extending perpendicularly above thespace in front of the dies A and B. An ear 2G is extended forwardly fromthis bracket and slidably mounted therein is a rod 2! secured to andextending upwardly from the ear l8. This rod has a spring 22 thereon,the spring bearing downwardly on the'ear 2G and upwardly against anadjustable head 23 on the rod. Thus the Spring acts normally to supportthe slide H) in raised position with its roller |2 in contact with theperiphery of the cam 4. The ear I! on this slide lil projects through aslot 24 in the front of the bracket and is located above the ear 9 onslide 1 which extends through the slot l6 in slide It]. A rod 25 issecured to and extends upwardly from the ear 9 and is slidable withinthe ear l1. On this rod is mounted a spring 26 which bears downwardlyagainst the ear I! and upwardly against the adjustable head 21 of therod. Thus it will be seen that while spring 22 yieldingly supports theslide I0 and holds the roller |2 against the cam 4, spring 26 yieldinglysupports the slide 1 from the slide ID to hold its roller 5 against theperiphery of the cam 3.

Pivotally mounted on the pin I3 between the collar 4 and the back wallof the guideway in bracket l are downwardly extended arms 28 and 29which extend, between the rollers 8 and are normally pressedthereagainst in any suitable manner, as bymeans of an interposed spring30.

As before stated the foregoing structure has alreadybeen disclosed inthe Ehinger patent and, in itself; constitutes no part of thisinvention. The present improvements include opposed feeding fingers 3|and 32 which extend downwardly from the arms 28 and 29. The finger 32 isformed. in its active face with depressions or recesses 33 spaced apartdistance equal to the distances between the impressions in the dies Aand B. These recesses are adapted to receive the several blanks S whilebeing transferred from one position tofanotherand; if desired, a pair ofblank engaging rollers 34 can be mounted in finger 32 adjacent one ormore of'these recesses. Where these rollers are employed they willproject beyond the wall of the adjacent recess so as to frictionallyengage the blank which extendsinto said recess.

The finger 3| can be formed with parallel side flanges 35 extendinglongitudinally thereof and toward the finger 32 so as to presentgripping edges 36 for engaging the blanks being acted upon.. Slots 3'!are formed in these flanges to rec'eive'the necks 38 of a roller 39located between the flanges; The flanges are cut away adjacent to theends'of roller 39 to'ex'pose portions of the roller'asindicated at 40and to prevent contact by the flanges with a; blank being rotated. Anarm 4| is extended from one end of :roller 39' through a slot 42 infinger 3| and pivotally connected to the end of this arm is a rod 43%slidably 'mountedin a guide car 44 at the back of the finger; l

A fixed stop ,45 is extended back of the finger 3| and rod 43 isslidably mounted therein. A collar 46 'issecured to'the rod and is heldnormally pressed 'againstthe ear 44 by a spring 41 which is mounted onrod 43 between collar 46 and stop 45. L A head 48' is located at theupper end of rod '43 and is normally spaced from the stop 45.

1 The, roller 39 is engaged by a spring 49 secured tothe finger 3| andexerting a constant pressure against the roller so as to force itnormally toward the finger 32;

Obviously the two fingers can be constructed in various ways. Forexample finger 3| can be rovided with guard flanges 50 at the sidesthereof between which rod 43 and the parts associated therewith arelocated.

The operation of the gripping fingers 3| and 32 is the same as thatdisclosed in the Ehinger patent herein mentioned and can be describedbriefly as follows:

The outer sides of the upper portions of arms 28 and 29 constitute camsindicated at 5| and 52 respectively. These cams cooperate with therollers 8 during the movement of the rollers relative to the arms forthe purpose of producing properly timed operations as hereinafterexplained.

With reference to the cam 4 which actuates the slide l0 carrying pivotpin l3 it might be stated that the movement of the slide produced by onerotation of cam 4 willbe equal to the distance between two adjoiningdepressions a and when the roller 2 is in contact with that portion ofthe cam 4 nearest the shaft 2 the arms 28 and 29 and fingers 3| and 32will be supported in their uppermost positions with the uppermost'recess 33 in line with one side of a receiving channel 53 formed by theupper corner portions of the meeting faces of the dies A and B. Theremaining recesses 33 will be at one side of the uppermost impressions aand I). These relative positions of the parts have been illustrated inFigure 1 and constitute the first position of the series assumed by theparts during the feeding operation. When slide I0 is thus supported inits uppermost position with the fingers 3| and 32 spread apart andraised, the roller 5 is also in its uppermost position in engagementwith cam 3. Consequently the shifting rollers 8 are located above thelower portions of the cam faces 5| and 52 as shown in Figure 1. 1

With the parts located as illustrated in Figure 1 a length of stockindicated at S is placed in the recess 53 at the upper end of themeeting faces of the gripping dies A and B. The placing of this stockcan be effected either by hand or automatically as may be desired. Therotation of shaft 2 is preferably timed with the reciprocation of thedie C and one complete rotation of this shaft will take place duringeach cycle of movement of the die C.

As the cams rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow from thepositions shown in Figures 1 and 2 (which is the first position) a portion of cam 4 will move over the roller, l2 so that the slide it] willnot be thrust downwardly. Instead it will be maintained at its uppermostposition. While being thus held, however, cam 3 will thrust downwardlyon the roller 5 and cause slide 1 to push the rollers 8 downwardly alongthe cam faces or edges 5| and'52 of the arms 28 and 29. Consequently thetwo arms and their fingers.3| 'and32 will be swung toward each other tothe position's shown in Figure 3. Thus the stock supported in the recess39 will be gripped in the upper recess 33 by the finger 3| and, if anystock previously fed to the machine is located in the impressions a andb of the gripping dies A and B, said articles will at the same time begripped between the fingers so as to be held within the other recesses33.

Following the completion of the foregoing operation the cam 3' continuesto press downwardly on the roller 5 and the slide 1 so as to thrust oneof the rollers 8 off of the cam 38 while the other roller 8 continuesdownwardly in engagement with the cam 5|. Consequently the two arms 28and 29 will be swung laterally so that the stock engaged by the fingers3| and 32 will be swung out of the impressions a. 'Ihis movement ispermitted because prior to thisaction the .movable gripping. die B hasshifted away from the stationary die A. During this further movement of'the slide 1 under the action of the cam 3, thecam 4 continues tomaintain the roller l2 and theslide I0 in their uppermost positions.This second step in the operation is followed by the third step whereinthefingers 3| and 32, while held together in engagement with the work,are moved downwardly .to transfer the work from the levels at which thefingers gripped the same to the next lowest level. Thus the stock thathad been fed to the recess 53 in the first stage of the operation iscarrieddownwardly to position between the uppermost impressions a and b.This operation takes place because the two cams 3.. and t at this timethrust downwardly. simultaneously upon the two rollers 5 and I2 untilthe slides are brought. to their lowermost positions with the rollers 8maintaining substantially the same positions relative to the cams 5| and5 2 that had been occupied by them in the preceding step.

The slide 7 next starts moving upwardly, so as to carry the rollers 8along the cam faces El and 52 which are so shaped as to'maintain thefingers close together in gripping engagement with the work. Shortlythereafter the moving die B comes .against the die A so that the work isgripped :between the dies and immediately thereafter the rollers 8travel upwardly sufficient distances to allow the fingers to move apartso as to release the work and leave it in engagement with the dies. Thefingers are then carried upwardly by the springs 22 and 25 which liftarms 28 and 29 and their fingers 3| and 32 to maintain the rollers ofthe slides in contact with the respective cams and, obviously, theopened fingers 3| and 32 are finally brought back to the first positionillustrated in Figure 1. It might be stated that asthe dies A and B gripthe work the heading or upsetting die C comes against the work andshapes the projecting portions thereof.

The present improvements are brought into action during each downward ortransferring action of the apparatus. If one roller 39 is used it willbe so located as to engage one of the blanks in an intermediate positionof the blank. Thus when the blanks are bodily removed from theimpressions b and are lowered to their next adjoining positions asheretofore explained one of the blanks will be gripped by the roller 39and as the fingers move downwardly the head 48 will ultimately comeagainst and be held back by the stop 45. Consequently further downwardmovement of rod 43 with the finger will be prevented and this willresult in rotation of roller 39 by its arm 4| and consequent rotation ofthe blank engaged by the roller. This rotation of the blank will becompleted as the blank is brought to its new position and after the diesA and B have closed upon the blanks the fingers will move upwardly totheir initial positions dur ing which time spring 41 will restore roller39 to its normal position. Thereafter the rotating operation will berepeated every time the blanks are transferred.

While rollers 34 have been illustrated for cooperation with roller 39 togrip a blank it is to be understood that under some conditions theserollers 34 need not be used.

It will also be noted that roller 39 has been shown in Figure 5 with aknurled or roughened surface. Such a surface might be found desirableunder some conditions.

While only one roller 39 has been shown it is to be understood thatother rollers with corresponding operating mechanism could be used inthe finger 3| so that more than one blank could be rotated during eachtransfer operation. These additional rollers 39 could be used with orwithout the rollers 34. As the modified arrangement is an obvious one,it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate it.

The several steps of feeding the work downwardly from one position toanother, imparting a partial rotation to a blank during suchdownwardmovement, and the return of the fingers 3| and 32 to theirinitial positions all take place during one cycle of movement of die 0.

Where several shaping operations take place in converting rough stock toa finished article, the

die C can be formed with different impressions for successivelyreceiving and shaping the stock. In the structure illustrated four ofthese impressions are provided and, consequently, four pieces of thestock can be in operative engagement with the machine simultaneously,namely the initial length of the stock in the upper recess 53, the stockin the upper impressions a and b which has been subjected to the firstupsetting operation, the stock in the next lowest impressions a and bwhich has been subjected to the second upsetting operation, the stock inthe third lowest impressions a and b which has been subjected to thethird upsetting operation and the completed article in the lowermostimpressions a and b which has received the final or finishing upset. InFigure 2 these five pieces of the stock have been shown in their properpositions immediately following the withdrawal of the upsetting die Cfrom engagement therewith and after a new pieceof stock has been placedin the recess 53. Obviously, therefore, when the gripping die B is movedaway from the gripping die A following the gripping action of thefingers 3| and 32, the lowermost article which is not gripped by thejaws and has been completed, will fall by gravity out of the lowermostimpressions a and b while the remaining four articles gripped by thefingers 3| and 32 will be carried downwardly one stage by the operationsheretofore described. Thus during each cycle of the machine during whichthe die C moves toward and from the dies A and B, one article will bedelivered complete from the machine.

By imparting a rotation to one or more of the blanks while they arebeing transferred between the dies it is possible to produce articles ina better finished condition than where the rotation is not effected.

What is claimed is:

1. In a metal working machine cooperating blank gripping fingers mountedfor reciprocation, a blank engaging roller carried by one of thefingers, yielding means for holding the roller normally againstrotation, and means controlled by the movement of said finger in onedirection for imparting a rotative motion to the roller against theaction of said yielding means and while in frictional contact with ablank.

2. In a metal working machine cooperating blank gripping fingers mountedfor reciprocation, a blank engaging roller carried by one of thefingers, yielding means for maintaining a frictional contact betweensaid roller and a. blank, a stop, a spring restrained rod having limitedsliding movement relative to the stop, and an operative connectionbetween the rod and the roller for effecting a delayed rotative motionof the roller during the movement of its finger in one direction.

3. In a machine of the class described, a die having a plurality ofblank receiving apertures therein, transfer means for transferring workblanks from one of said blank receiving apertures to another, said meanscomprisinga pair of fingers and meansformoving the fingers, means forturning a work blank held by said fingers about its axis, said meanscomprising amovable memberassociated with one of saidfingers andadapt'edto engage a work blank to be turned, and a-member pivotallyconnected to said movable member and operably connected to a stationaryportionof the machine whereby on movement of the finger the movablemember is movedrelative to the'finger.

4. In a machine of the class described, a die having a plurality ofblank receiving :apertures,

transfer fingers for transferring work blanks between said blankreceiving apertures, a turning jaw in the end of one of said fingers,said jaw being movable relative to said finger and-"being adapted toturn a work blank held by said fingers.

\ "5. In a machine of the class described, a die havingap'lurality ofblank receiving apertures, transfer fingers for transferring work blanksbetween said blank receiving apertures, a turning jaw in the end of oneof said fingers, said jaw being movable relative to said finger andbeing adapted to turn a work blank held by said fingers, and meansresponsive to movement of the finger for effecting movement of the jawrelative to the finger.

6. The combination of a pair of gripperdies having a plurality of diestations, transfer fingers for transferring work pieces between said diestations, and turning jaws in the end of said fingers, the jaws beingmovable relative to the fingers and being adapted to turn work piecesheld therebetween.

7. The combination with a pair of gripper dies having work stations,transfer fingers for transferring workpieces between said stations, andlugs in the ends of and movable relative to said fingers adapted to gripawork piece held therebetween, said lugs being adapted to impart limitedrotational movement to said work pieces.

8. The combination with a pair of gripper dies having work stations,transfer fingers adapted a blank held therebetween.

-9. The-combination with a pair of grip-per dies having work stations,mutually pivoted transfer fingers'for transferring work pieces betweensaid stations, and a jaw'in the end of one of said fingers adapted toengage a work piece held therebetween, said jaw being movable relativeto said finger andbeing adapted to impart a combined arcuate androtational movement to said work pieces a 10. The combination with apair of gripper dies having work stations, mutually pivoted transferfingers adapted to transfer work blanks between said stations toward oraway from said pivot, a blank engaging jaw in the end of one of saidfingers, said jaw being movable relative to said finger, and meansactuating said jaw to cause rotational movement of a blank heldtherebetween.

11. In a machine of the class described, a die having a plurality ofblank receiving apertures therein, transfer means for transferring workblanks from one of said blank receiving apertures to another, said meanscomprising a pair of fingers having a common moving support, means formoving the support, meansfor turning a work blank held by said fingersabout its axis, said means comprising a movable member associated withone of said'fingers and adapted to engage a blank tobe turned, and amember pivotally connected to said movable member and operably connectedto a stationary portion of the machine whereby on movement of the fingerthe movable member is moved relative to the finger.

. JOHN H. FRIEDMAN.

